September is National Infant Mortality Awareness Month — a time to bring attention to the rate of babies dying before their first birthday in the United States.

The United States has a high rate of newborn and infant death; The same is true in Florida and regionally. While the infant mortality rate in Northeast Florida declined in 2011 to a historic low, but there are still significant disparities between the white and black and other nonwhite populations. Several local counties also have very high rates for the general population that exceed those of the region and state.